How do I install the Check Drift skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add fedoroff-vlad/check-drift in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Check Drift safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Check Drift?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Check Drift free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Check Drift?

fedoroff-vlad (@fedoroff-vlad) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Check Drift by fedoroff-vlad — Agent Skill

Name: Check Drift
Author: fedoroff-vlad

Check Drift

Use after ANY change and before opening a PR to verify every coupled artifact moved together. Fires on: changed an env var / port / endpoint / MCP tool / dependency / LLM model / DB schema; "did I update everything"; "check drift"; "reconcile the docs". Reads the repo's .skills/change-map.yaml and reports which coupled files did NOT move.

fedoroff-vlad Updated Sep 21, 2026

File contents

check-drift — no change is done until every coupled artifact moves with it

A change is silent drift until the same PR updates all its coupled artifacts. This skill turns that discipline into a check.

Procedure

Load the map: read .skills/change-map.yaml at the repo root. It lists couplings, each with a trigger, an optional ssot, a must_update list, and optional revalidate steps.
Diff the change: get the working-tree / PR diff (changed files).
Match couplings: for each coupling whose ssot or trigger-owned file appears in the diff, treat it as fired.
Report gaps: for each fired coupling, list every must_update path that is NOT in the diff. That list is the drift. Be specific — path by path.
Delegate the mechanizable half: if the repo has a consistency linter (e.g. scripts/check-consistency.sh), run it and fold its output in — it catches the grep-able stale refs; this skill catches the rest.
Flag revalidation: if a fired coupling has revalidate steps (a golden lane, a rebuild), remind the user to run them — a moved file can still be semantically stale.
Self-check: verify the tools/agent-skills/ pointer + index block exist and match across the project's docs (this skill's own wiring is a coupling).

Output

A short verdict: OK — all couplings satisfied, or a per-coupling list of missing artifacts. No prose padding. If nothing in the diff matches any coupling, say so plainly rather than inventing findings.

Extending

When a new mechanically-checkable coupling appears, add it to .skills/change-map.yaml (not to this body) — that is how the "automat" grows without editing the skill.

---name: check-driftdescription: Use after ANY change and before opening a PR to verify every coupled artifact moved together. Fires on: changed an env var / port / endpoint / MCP tool / dependency / LLM model / DB schema; "did I update everything"; "check drift"; "reconcile the docs". Reads the repo's .skills/change-map.yaml and reports which coupled files did NOT move.---# check-drift — no change is done until every coupled artifact moves with itA change is silent drift until the same PR updates all its coupled artifacts.This skill turns that discipline into a check.## Procedure1. **Load the map**: read `.skills/change-map.yaml` at the repo root. It lists `couplings`, each with a `trigger`, an optional `ssot`, a `must_update` list, and optional `revalidate` steps.2. **Diff the change**: get the working-tree / PR diff (changed files).3. **Match couplings**: for each coupling whose `ssot` or trigger-owned file appears in the diff, treat it as fired.4. **Report gaps**: for each fired coupling, list every `must_update` path that is NOT in the diff. That list is the drift. Be specific — path by path.5. **Delegate the mechanizable half**: if the repo has a consistency linter (e.g. `scripts/check-consistency.sh`), run it and fold its output in — it catches the grep-able stale refs; this skill catches the rest.6. **Flag revalidation**: if a fired coupling has `revalidate` steps (a golden lane, a rebuild), remind the user to run them — a moved file can still be semantically stale.7. **Self-check**: verify the `tools/agent-skills/` pointer + index block exist and match across the project's docs (this skill's own wiring is a coupling).## OutputA short verdict: `OK — all couplings satisfied`, or a per-coupling list ofmissing artifacts. No prose padding. If nothing in the diff matches anycoupling, say so plainly rather than inventing findings.## ExtendingWhen a new mechanically-checkable coupling appears, add it to`.skills/change-map.yaml` (not to this body) — that is how the "automat" growswithout editing the skill.

Frequently asked questions